In the Beginning
In the Beginning
| 12 November 2000 (USA)
SEASON & EPISODES
  • 1
  • Reviews
    Brightlyme

    i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

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    Derry Herrera

    Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

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    Asad Almond

    A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

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    Sarita Rafferty

    There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

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    vip_ebriega

    My Take: An all-star cast and a few glorious visuals make a rather interesting TV movie. Martin Landau as Abraham? Jacqueline Bisset as his wife Sarah? Christopher Lee in gratuitous cameo as Rameses I? Only TV's Hallmark Entertainment could make this possible. The producer back at Hallmark who might nearly have enough money to make a macho Hollywood blockbuster spend it yet again on a another 3-hour two-part miniseries meant to set ratings on fire. Well not really, but they do come up with a rather interesting and marginally entertaining TV special with an agreeable cast and a modest budget. The movie is basically a 3-hour long adaptation of the most important events of the Old Testament. From Adam and Eve (with cut-for-TV nudity), Abraham and how he became "the Father of All Nations", Joesph and his multicolored dreamcoat and the grand story of Moses and the Exodus, the movie has it all and has time to spare. It's a bit long when watched on DVD rather than the two-part miniseries on TV, but it's an adequate and actually well-crafted effort. Just don't expect it to be anything grand ala Cecil B. Demille, or at least something that would make a cinch to get ratings.Rating: ***1/2 out of 5.

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    bryanwx10

    I see this movie for the non-believer or someone who is fresh in Christianity because the movie did stay true to the overall truth but it simply left out certain facts which happens when you convert a book to a movie...I am not saying that this is right...but what I am saying is that a person who watches the movie and enjoys it will definitely be intrigued to read the stories for themselves and receive a deeper understanding...I would recommend this movie for the believer or the non-believer overall good movie which acts like a fisherman of men! I agree with some of the comments of the first reviewer but I think he should remember not everyone is on his level...and that the Christian 101 who might just be intrigued by the New Testament will find solace and understanding before they tackle Genesis and Exodus.

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    chrismcreynolds

    I rate this film as just above awful. To those that approve of this film, they rationalize by stating that there is no real way to know if the Bible is more accurate than this film. If that is the case, then the whole point of worship is a waste of time (if you don't even trust the Bible to convey the stories accurately). There are a number of films that cover the same period with much closer accuracy. There is the film called "Jacob" with Mathew Modine that is superb, including each important detail from the Bible (the only authentic source) and it even manages to show the dream of "Jacob's Latter" in a scene that seems to me as completely possible as authentic. The acting of each character is absolutely superb whereas this film deviates so much that one would not possibly understand much of the story if they rely on this film. It is sad because it not only suffered from too much "compression" (which is some times a legitimate decision) but it replaces the actual Biblical dialogue with its own similar but very misleading telling of the stories. There is a series of 5 films produced by TNT that is infinitely superior and can be purchased as a set. Please do not ever use this film as a primary source for understanding these books from the Bible. The script was obviously written by a non-believer with the idea that the Bible can't be trusted anyway, so why not take liberties like so many other American adaptations? The end result is at times blasphemous.

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    mermatt

    This is another of those well-intentioned Biblical TV-movies that comes across as a mixture of a Sunday School lesson and Cliff Notes for the Bible. A decent cast is wasted in superficial summaries, and the FX are simply cheesy. Instead of trying to tell everything from Creation to the Chosen People arriving in the Promised Land in two two-hour segments (with a total story time of less than three hours), it might have been better to focus more on one or two stories at most.

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